Huey Freeman
Huey Freeman is one of the three main characters. He is the older brother of Riley Freeman and the grandson of Robert Jebediah Freeman. He is each episode's primary narrator ( usually ), the vioce-of-reason and moral compass of the family, and the spokesperson for contemporary Afrocentrism. He is an intelligent, wise-beyond-his-years ten-year-old who is avid reader and knowledgeable about a variety of subjects. He is heavily influenced by the theories of various left-wing social movements and social justice leaders. He is constantly ridiculed and underestimated by his family, who thinks he is a fool for having goals and values that aim higher than those of the lower class environment from which they came. In the show, it is mentioned that Huey has been declared a "domestic terrorist". While Huey promotes various social causes, he is openly contemptuous of African-American pop culture as potrayed in mainstream American media for glamorizing wasteful extravagance, self-defeating lifestyles, and ignorance. Appearance Huey's most prominent characteristic is his big afro and he is sometimes seen wearing clothes based off of Che Guevara's style ( Che Guevara also happens to be one of Huey's heroes ). Personality Huey is a highly intelligent ten-year-old who recognizes and detests the absurdities (both obvious and perceived) of the society in which he lives. His cynism often touches upon subjects such as politics, religion, the media, businesses and corporations, African-American culture and American society as a whole. Tending to be cantankerous in both manner and speech, Huey has demonstrated a depth of understanding that would seem to surpass his young age, such as knowing roughly what is going to happen in the future based on the actions and personalities of the people involved. For example, in "The Fund-Raiser," Huey accurately predicts what will become of Riley's candy-selling racket, going so far as to give him a bulletproof vest that eventually saves his life. Huey is depicted as owning a large collection of books and other reading materials, as he often reads the newspaper, watches the televised news and otherwise makes a point to keep up with currents events. Huey seems to show some fondness for Star Wars, and quotes the series often. On at least one occasion, he demonstrated an aptitude for writing fiction in the form of script writing ( he wrote a play entitled The Adventures Of Black Jesus in "A Huey Freeman Christmas"). He has also written poignant letters and emails to public figures imploring them to support various political causes. He has started petitions, made and handed out flyers, and created and edited his own newspaper titled The Free Huey World Report. He uses such media to express his own opinions and ideas, though their impact is generally limited given their nature and his minimal resources. Huey does not consider himself to be religious and has mentioned so several times in the comics. Nevertheless, he very passionately insists that Jesus Christ was black and Ronald Reagan was the devil.As of the third season of the series, the only support he has explicitly given to this theory is that many individuals of African descent lived in the Middle East during the time of Christ. Huey is shown to disagree with the popular beliefs of Christmas. As Christmas has roots in a Pagan holiday, he has suggested Jesus Christ probably hates people for celebrating it. It is assumed that Huey is an agnostic. In the comic strip, he claims that Santa Claus is an Illuminati agent working toward The New World Order. The only deep insight in Huey's spiritual beliefs is when he believed an innocent man on death row whose release Huey had worked for was about to be executed ("The Passion Of Reverend Ruckus"). Alone in a field, Huey dropped to his knees and sobbed as he offered up prayers to God; almost simultaneously, a bizzare chain of events led to the man's sentence being postponed or commuted by the governor. Upon learning of this, Huey says: " Maybe there are forces in the universe we don't understand. But I still believe we make our own miracles". Huey is shown to admire several historical figures. In "The Return Of The King" he is the only person who still respects Martin Luther King, Jr. after King awakens from a 32-year coma and is misconstrued by the public as a terrorist. Huey has stated that Muhammed Ali is a hero of his. He also has many posters of Che Guevara, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. Three figures he has quoted before are Langston Hughes, Karl Marx, and Khalil Gibran. While Huey is always portrayed as being a left-wing radical, his specific political ideologies are never actually portrayed in detail. On several occasions, such as "The Block Is Hot," he has demonstrated a following of Revolutionary Socialism. This is also backed up because Huey has posters of revolutionary socialists in his room. A belief in Anarchism is also plausible, as several of his statements have paid respect to it. In "Or Die Trying...." he teaches a theater ticket taker about Anarcho-Syndicalism and Marxism. However, a moderate belief in Black Nationalism is common, since a desire for a greater unity between the black people of America is a reccuring theme. Huey has also quoted Karl Marx , suggesting and understanding of communism. In "The Real" Huey claims to be the founder of 23 radical lefist organizations, including the Black Revolutionary Organization or B.R.O., Africans Fighting Racism and Oppression or A.F.R.O., and the Black Revolutionary Underground Heroes, or B.R.U.H. In terms of public opinion, the national media within the Boondocks' universe often mistakenly (or rather, satirically) mislabels Huey as a "domestic terrorist" throughout various newscasts seen during the third season. Being extremely pessimistic, Huey is rarely seen smiling in the episodes. He is either in a neutral expression or is seen frowning or shrugging. In season one, Huey was seen smiling when he defeats his brother Riley and in "The Passion Of Reverend Ruckus" when he asks Jazmine to come with him to prison (though the smile is quickly replaced with anger toward Jazmine) and twice in "The Block Is Hot" when he set up his soap box and when he watched Jazmine speak with Ed Wuncler Sr. In season two, he is seen smiling three times. Once was in episode "Home Alone" when Granddad returns home after his trip to Costa Rica. The second and third is in episode "Ballin" when Riley finally insults the opposing team's star player enough to make her cry. After scoring multiple baskets, Huey is seen smiling at his brother along with Granddad. He is also seen smiling during the timeout that Tom called to congratulate the team on their playing. Other than four instances, Huey has never been caught smiling. That isn't to say that Huey lacks a softer side, as he will take steps to help and protect those who he considers friends or family (ex. Tom, Jazmine, Riley, etc. ) Abilities Shown to be a skilled martial artist, Huey oftentimes demonstrates on various occasions an ability with nunchaku, katana, bo staff, as well as hand to hand combat that far surpasses the expected capabilities of a ten-year-old. Though he has won several fights against Riley, a pair of theater guards, Stinkmeaner on one occasion ( though with the help of his grandfather and brother ), Ming on another occasion, Uncle Ruckus on the season 3 finale, and his former friend Cairo on another occasion, he has been defeated several times (Stinkmeaner, Luna, Stinkmeaner's crew, and Uncle Ruckus) His fight with Bushido Brown ended in a draw (Bushido left the fight to protect his ward Oprah Winfrey) , Luna was a Kumite and a White Lotus expert, and Stinkmeaner was at the time, a supernatural presence. And though Uncle Ruckus beat Huey the first time, it is not shown who won the rematch; the beginning of the fight was the end of the episode. He also fought a few of Winston Jerome's men. Huey regularly beats Riley with ease in their fights despite the fact Riley often uses objects such as frying pans, or golf clubs in their fights showing Huey is very disciplined and skilled against armed opponents. Oratorically gifted, Huey has shown the ability to seize and hold the attention of entire crowds of people when he wants to do so. He uses this gift during individual interactions as well, during which he can gain a desired effect depending on his intention. In "The Red Ball" , he is also shown to understand and speak Mandarin. Also in that same episode " The Red Ball ", Huey is shown to be very skilled in kickball. Relationships Riley Freeman Riley is Huey's younger brother, and regularly represents everything Huey loathes and generally disapproves of. Huey is politically minded and critical while Riley remains uninterested, showing great affection for many things including gangsta rap, violence, and "bling," that Huey finds to be culturally poisonous. Despite their constant fighting and his disagreement with Riley's beliefs, Huey cares very much for his brother as he usually tries to steer him in the right direction, acts which Riley initially ignores, but results in Riley facing the consequences of his actions later on. They also get into furious battles with each other. Robert Jebediah Freeman Robert Freeman is the paternal grandfather and legal guardian of Huey and Riley Freeman, who often disagrees with many of Huey's political ideas. While in the comic strip, Huey and his grandfather have a much more affable relationship, in the series, they are almost constantly at odds, in part due to his constant favoritism shown to Riley, who supports his grandfather's various crazy schemes. Huey seems to offer Granddad advice in certain situations, such as during "Granddad's Fight", "The S-Word", and "The Story Of Thugnificent," attempts that almost always fall flat. Jazmine Dubois Although Jazmine DuBois and Huey spend a great deal of their time together, Huey often treats Jazmine poorly due to his disdain for her trusting personality and apolitical views. In the TV series, the two appear to be a lot closer (in fact, she is the only child he is shown to be interacting with outside of Riley), as with Huey confiding in her about his desire to meet up with former best friend Cairo during a planned trip to Chicago ("Wingmen") and Huey allowing her to help him in his plan to free an unjustly imprisoned inmate scheduled to be executed out of prison ("The Passion of Reverend Ruckus"), essentially trusting her as an accomplice. Although Huey initially appears to be derisive of her beliefs, his opinion of her improves, and by the end of season 3, she is most likely his only friend. In the nation-wide pandemic during "The Fried Chicken Flu," she is the only other person he allows to stay at his home (in addition to Granddad and Riley). Huey has also shown a proclivity to empathize with her at times, showing visible concern for her during episodes such as "The Block Is Hot," when he campaigns for her release from her quasi-child-labor contract and gives her his scarf at the end of the episode when she is cold. For her part, Jazmine appears to appreciate Huey's characteristics, claiming that he is "not like everyone else" ("Fried Chicken Flu"). She is also one of the only people who appear to actually listen to Huey, and was the only one that read the manual he provided during the fried chicken epidemic. Tom Dubois Tom DuBois, Jazmine's father, represents almost everything Huey is primarily against. Tom, being a strait-laced liberal democrat assistant district attorney, is part of the structure that Huey views as inhibitive and self-destructive. He also dislikes Tom because he encourages his daughter to conform to a more European look rather than emphasizing the beauty of her African features, as shown when Tom mentions that he's tried everything to make Jazmine's hair more straight. Despite Huey's disagreements with Tom, the two are shown generally to be on good terms as he often acknowledges Huey's intellect and maturity to the extent that he will often turn to Huey for advice on subjects ranging from help with his marriage, politics, and his career as a prosecutor (with Huey supporting Tom's prosecution of R. Kelly for statutory rape.) When he is put in holding for false accusations of murder and finds out that he will be sent to real "butt pounding" jail for the weekend - Tom uses his one phone call to beg Huey to catch the real killer before that day's end. Ed Wuncler, Sr. Ed Wuncler serves as a villainous foil for Huey, as Ed Wuncler, Sr., represents indeed everything Huey is against. In spite of this, Wuncler retains a friendly relationship with the Freeman family, despite Huey seeing through his friendly facade as far as the true person Wuncler is inside. Interestingly, Huey considers Wuncler's biases to stem from his greed and influence rather than actual racism. Ed Wuncler III and Gin Rummy Huey distrusts Ed and Gin, having seen the two young men perform many criminal and immoral actions and does not hesitate to point out the obvious stupidity behind their careless conduct. He also does not care for the way that they help contribute to Riley's delinquent attitude, leading him to often warn his brother to stay away from them. Uncle Ruckus Huey is the only recurring character to consistently show anger towards Uncle Ruckus, as others are usually confused by his beliefs and non-sequitur statements. Ruckus often views himself as a white man and often aspires to be white. This is due to the claim by his mother, stating that he was adopted by herself and Ruckus' father, Mr. Ruckus. In a later episode of the third season, we meet his mother, father, and two brothers; while his mother continues to strongly insist that he is adopted, his father says otherwise. Mr. Ruckus tells Uncle that he is truly black, and that his mother loves white folks so much, she told Uncle he was adopted so that he could live being happy. In the third season's premiere, neither Huey nor Uncle Ruckus vote for Barack Obama to be elected President, but for different reasons: Ruckus's reason is that Obama is black and he wants McCain to win. Huey, on the other hand, aside from the fact he is not old enough to vote, does not like either one; though he voices little actual opinion during the episode, but it is apparent that he thinks that Obama being President isn't going to change anything as many people presume. Huey and Ruckus both plan on leaving the country in a plan called "Operation Exodus." Huey claims that while he and Ruckus are by no means allies, the association is convenient - Ruckus has a car, and Huey has gas money. Their association is only meant to extend to the Canadian border, at which point they will go their separate ways. The plan fails, however, when agents arrest Uncle Ruckus for threatening Obama. Huey, now unable to get a ride since Ruckus is in lockup, is forced to cancel Operation Exodus. Michael Caesar During the comic strip's run, Michael Caesar (known by his surname) was Huey's best friend and classmate. Like Huey, Caesar is very much self aware of current events and experienced culture shock after leaving a big city like New York, and moving to the predominately white suburb of Woodcrest. Caesar shares many of Huey's political views but lacks his serious demeanor, preferring instead to engage in critical mockery rather than extreme activism. He has yet to appear in the animated TV series. The White Shadow In the Season 1 episode "The Real," Huey has several encounters with a undercover government spy in which he dubs as "The White Shadow." At the end of the episode he is left uncertain whether these encounters were real. The man reappears in the Season 3 finale "It's Goin' Down" to warn Huey that government agents actually are on their way to Woodcrest to apprehend him, forcing him into a desperate attempt to flee the city. Trivia *Huey is named after Huey P. Newton, one of the co-founders and leaders of the Black Panther Party. *He is voiced by actress Regina King *It strongly suggested that Huey and Riley's birth parents are deceased. This is, in part, based on Robert's dialogue from the first episode stating that he spent the boys' "inheritance" on their new house in Woodcrest. Category:Main Characters Category:Protagonists Category:The Freeman Family